Week 1 Part I · C# and .NET Foundations

Introduction to Enterprise Software Engineering with .NET

Instructor lesson plan: lecture (2 h) and practice (2 h).

Learning objectives

Explain what makes software enterprise-grade: domain rules, users, data, quality attributes, and maintainability.
Describe the modern .NET ecosystem and the role of ASP.NET Core in backend systems.
Set up the semester project repository, solution structure, and team workflow.
Choose candidate project domains and write first use-case statements.

Tools this week

.NET SDKVisual Studio / Rider / VS CodeGitGitHub

🎓Lecture · 2 hours

0:00-0:10	10 min	Welcome and course contract One running project, three presentations, no written exam. The course question: how do we turn a business domain into maintainable software?
0:10-0:30	20 min	What enterprise software means Users, workflows, roles, data consistency, security, auditability, and long-term change. Endpoint count versus system design quality.
0:30-0:55	25 min	The .NET ecosystem .NET runtime, SDK, C#, ASP.NET Core, EF Core, NuGet, supporting projects. Solution and project boundaries as design decisions.
0:55-1:10	15 min	Use cases and domains Actor, intent, trigger, business rule, success result. Board exercise: order placement as a use case, not a controller method.
1:10-1:20	10 min	Break
1:20-1:45	25 min	Semester architecture arc From domain model to API, persistence, architecture, patterns, security, Azure integration, and optional AI integration. How weeks 5, 8, and 13 measure design maturity.
1:45-2:00	15 min	Project domainsReview the approved domains and the evidence each team must show in Presentation 1.

Common misconception to confront.

Students often think: enterprise means large or complicated.
Set it straight: enterprise means the system has real business rules, real users, real data, and must remain understandable as it changes.

Check for understanding

Why is “create an order” not enough as a use case?

It omits the actor, trigger, validation rules, inventory policy, payment state, failure paths, and the business result.

What is the difference between a .NET solution and a project?

A solution groups related projects. Each project compiles into a unit such as an API, domain library, infrastructure library, or test assembly.

Key takeaways.

Architecture starts with use cases and domain rules.
.NET provides a mature ecosystem for API, data, security, and integration work.
The semester project is the evidence for every course concept.

📚Reading & resources

.NET introduction Official overview of the platform, runtime, SDK, and application models.
ASP.NET Core fundamentals The core concepts behind request handling and application startup.
Software Architecture: The Hard Parts, ch. 1 Architecture is tradeoff analysis under constraints.

💻Practice · 2 hours

In the practice session the instructor demonstrates setup and repository workflow live. The session ends with the first project-integration brief.

0:00-0:15	15 min	Setup check Verify .NET SDK, IDE, Git, and GitHub access. Create and run a minimal console project.
0:15-0:45	30 min	Solution from scratch Create a solution with API, Domain, Application, and Infrastructure projects. Discuss why each boundary exists.
0:45-1:10	25 min	Project workflow assumptions Confirm repository access and branch naming. README as a project contract.
1:10-1:20	10 min	Break
1:20-1:50	30 min	Team domain workshop Teams shortlist domains and draft three use cases. Instructor checks scope and realism.
1:50-2:00	10 min	Project-integration briefEach team leaves with a repository, domain shortlist, and first use-case draft.

Project integration (this week)

Create the team repository and initial solution.
Write three use cases for two possible domains.
Prepare a one-page domain choice argument for week 2.

Curated references Project brief